Thunder (real name Hinmatoom, formerly known in the original games/universe as Chief Thunder) is a traditional Native American Nez Perce warrior, and a playable character in Killer Instinct (1994) and Killer Instinct (2013).

Contents

Biography

Appearance

In the original Killer Instinct (1994), Thunder appears as a large, red-skinned Native American who is bare-chested and wears a pair of camo pants, green boots, and gray gloves. He has black warpaint around his eyes, black tattoo lines along his shoulders, a shaved head with a feather mohawk headpiece, and ear piercings. He carries two tomahawks into battle.

In Killer Instinct (2013), Thunder received a significant overhaul along with a more accurate Nez Perce tribal identity. Still bare-chested, but no longer wearing gloves and lacking his original mohawk, he now has warpaint done in the style of a crow, with white paint adorning his hands and upper arms, along with parts of his face and neck. His face is covered in black, yellow, and white warpaint, almost completely obscuring its skin. He wears a feathered war bonnet and a Nez Perce bear claw necklace, desert-colored pants with two interlocked belts, shin-guards, and combat boots. Thunder's tomahawks now are handmade and more traditional compared to his original ones.

Thunder's "retro costume" wears a black leather vest with several logo patches such as KI, Rareware and Route 66 and also has large Killer Instinct logo at the back, he wears blue jeans and a brown shoes. He has brown hair braided in ponytail and a blue bandana.

Personality

“

Tormented by the death of his brother, Thunder is an honorable warrior who respects tradition and fights from his heart.

„

— Thunder's story mode description

Thunder is a man of loyal heart who remains devoted to his family and his heritage, easily seen in his traditional Nez Perce battle attire. He mainly speaks in his native language of Niimiipuutímt out of preference, though he does know English. His main goal is to find his brother Tipyeléhne, also known as Eagle, who was kidnapped by Ultratech years ago. Thunder has learned from Orchid that Eagle was used in the creation of the Fulgore Mk. III, and since then he has fought against Ultratech so that he may find the Mk. III prototype and hopefully his brother as well. Thunder also maintains a strong bond with Aganos, since he was responsible for freeing the golem from Ultratech’s control and both warriors are seeking people of great importance to them. The two have traveled together ever since their first encounter.

Abilities

Thunder is a huge and brutal fighter who has derived most of his fighting style from street fights that occurred on the reserve he grew up on in Idaho, as well as his old football days. He wields his tribe's traditional tomahawks with power and grace. Due to his connection with his raven weyekin he has limited control over lightning, being able to charge his tomahawks or even his own body or head with electricity. His weyekin also allows him to pass through solids by surrounding him with ghostly ravens. In the original Killer Instinct, he could also throw phoenix-shaped fireballs from his tomahawks.

Killer Instinct

Thunder in the original KI

Story

Mystical defender of Native Americans. Thunder enters the contest in order to uncover the mystery surrounding his brother's disappearance in the previous year's tournament.

Extended Story

Long months have passed since the previous year's Ultratech tournament, and despite the wide-ranging searches of his tribe's supernatural phoenix allies, the Chief's beloved but overambitious younger brother has failed to return in either triumph or defeat. After much agonising over the matter, and to great protest from his tribesfolk, Thunder decides that he must suspect the worst concerning Eagle's fate, and pacifies his people by nominating himself as avenger. The Chief has no dreams of glory, taking up Ultratech's challenge with nothing but vengeance and a primal justice in mind.

Ending

After discovering the fate of his brother, Thunder contemplates the future and mourns the loss of Eagle but, with his death avenged, the soul of Eagle can finally rest in peace forever. Or can it.....?

Killer Instinct (2013)

Story

Unable to let go of his grief and consumed by the mysteries that still surround the loss of his brother Eagle, Hinmatoom (Thunder) strikes an accord with an unfamiliar figure in exchange for recovering Eagle's remains so that he can be given a traditional burial and both can find peace.

Extended Story

Moveset

Instinct Mode - Spiritual Dash: Thunder turns into a flock of crows when he dashes forward or backward. His dash more than doubles and can go through opponents. The dash itself has a lot of invincibility and can be canceled with an attack mid dash and can lend itself to ambiguous mixups.

Combo Trait - Throw Linkers: Thunder can use his back throw as his linker making it impossible to Combo Break and lose potential damage and can throw off players due to the awkward timing of the throw. They can still tech out of the throw however. The throw can also be used as an opener.

Sky Fall: (Heavy Kick during Sammamish or Shadow Sammamish) Cancels air momentum to perform an air stomp. After the update it is considered a Special Move. Causes ground bounce.

Throw: (Light Punch + Light Kick)

Special Moves:

Triplax: (QCF + Punch) Thunder does a series of spinning slashes with his axes.

Call of the Earth: (QCB + Punch) Thunder grabs and slams his opponent down, then curbstomps their head.

Ankle Slicer: (QCB + Kick) Thunder does a low slash with his axes. Must be blocked low.

Sammamish: (DP + Punch) Thunder leaps diagonally into the air with startup invincibility.

Call of Sky: (All Three Punches) Thunder calls a bolt of lightning to strike himself, charging himself with electricity. This makes his next dash's distance almost double and lets him pass through opponent, operating similarly to his Instinct Mode but for only one time.

Shadow Moves:

Shadow Triplax: (QCF + Two Punches) Thunder does a series of spinning slashes with his axes.

Shadow Call of the Earth: (QCB + Two Punches) Thunder grabs and slams his opponent down as he does three stomps with lightning effects. The third stomp ground bounces them up.

Shadow Ankle Slicer: (QCB + Two Kicks) Thunder does a low slash with his axes. Must be blocked low.

Shadow Sammamish: (DP + Two Punches) Thunder leaps diagonally into the air with startup invincibility.

Combo Openers:

Triplax: (QCF + Punch) Thunder does a series of spinning slashes with his axes.

Shadow Triplax: (QCF + Two Punches) Thunder does a series of spinning slashes with his axes.

Ankle Slicer: (QCB + Kick) Thunder does a low slash with his axes. Must be blocked low.

Shadow Ankle Slicer: (QCB + Two Kicks) Thunder does a low slash with his axes. Must be blocked low.

Stage

When an Ultra Combo is being performed on this stage, a rain storm first begins, then lightning starts to strike, and a massive tornado will form in the background.

Trivia: During the slow music due to characters not moving, his remixed classic theme, "Oh Yeah" will play.

Endings

Spare Orchid, ULTRA Fulgore

Hinmatoom's victories have not filled the grave on Devil's Throne. His brother's spirit will never rest until his body returns home. Grieving and lost, Hinmatoom resolves to "walk the Path" of Eagle, knowing it will lead to answers, or death. Thunder will be content either way.

Spare Fulgore, ULTRA Orchid

A competitor in the first Ultratech tournament, Orchid knows what became for Hinmatoom's brother. In defeat she sees a chance to turn Hinmatoom into an ally, revealing the truth of Eagle's remains. "There are no remains. There is no body, because Eagle is not dead."

ULTRA Orchid and Fulgore

Eagle's murder was blamed on a 600-year-old immortal, but he was not dead. Unable to create an artificial intelligence equal to a human fighter, Ultratech sought a "pure fighting spirit" upon which to base a new AI. Ultratech has plundered Eagle's mind to create the ultimate fighter.

Quotes

“

Thank you for the battle!

„

— Thunder's victory quote

Trivia

When reimagining Chief Thunder for Killer Instinct (2013), Microsoft Studios contacted a member of the Nez Perce tribe, Josiah "Black Eagle" Pinkham, to evaluate the authenticity of the character's new design. Pinkham spend a day with the KI team and detailed the real-life culture of the Nez Perce to them, such as how a traditional warrior would celebrate the defeat of an opponent. Pinkham suggested they make Thunder "culturally heroic". Thunder's design and background story for KI 2013 were based on these interactions.

Thunder's weyekin (or "spirit guide") is the crow, a creature which is considered to be a harbinger of good luck in the mythology of many Native American tribes.

A small goof is that his official 2013 theme composed by Mick Gordon is incorrectly titled "Hinnamatoom".

Another goof is in his official 2013 backstory, "Murder of Crows", where he is incorrectly named "Hinmatoon".

Contrary to popular belief, the phoenix isn't a creature belonging to Native American culture. Rather, it is usually associated with Sumerian, Egyptian, and Christian mythology & symbolism. There is however a creature in Aboriginal myth known as the Thunderbird, which is said to be so massive its beating wings create the rolling sound of thunder. Thunder's Instinct Mode, Ultra Combo, and Devil's Landing stage all involve lightning, rain, or gales, implying he has a spiritual connection to such a being.

Interestingly, Native American legend relates that the Thunderbird was often accompanied by lesser spirits which took the form of Eagles. Thunder's younger brother, Eagle, is a minor character in the KI franchise and has his namesake as his weyekin.

In Killer Instinct (2013), Thunder is the only character who hasn't been given his classic KI retro outfit, which is met with controversy among fans. This is supposedly due to his appearance from the original Killer Instinct being considered too stereotypical a representation of Native American culture. However, he can still be customized to look closely like his previous KI appearance.